


Poisonous

by Mega_Erofan



Series: Fear [1]
Category: Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Puppet Master (Movies), Shin Sangokumusou | Dynasty Warriors
Genre: Adventure, Complete, Gen, Horror, Mystery, Slight Humor, Supernatural - Freeform, hints of hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-30
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-01-10 14:56:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1161026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mega_Erofan/pseuds/Mega_Erofan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Normally waking after being knocked unconscious in battle was normal for Jia Xu but when you wake up in a forest you don’t recall ever having seen before, that’s when things become complicated. And if the strange castle in the middle of the forest wasn’t enough, he runs into an even stranger young woman left injured by someone or something in the castle. Now he needs to work with this girl in order for both to return home while solving strange puzzles and avoiding the monsters that roam the halls. Oh, what fun.</p><div class="center">
  <p>“No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.”<br/>-Edmund Burke </p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Forest

**Author's Note:**

> Amnesia world based on an Amnesia custom story: _Poisonous_. Events partially based upon the playthrough of the same story done by Markiplier. 
> 
> Jia Xu wears his DW8 outfit and other minor OCs make brief appearances in each story section after _Poisonous_.
> 
> Various French phrases will be used by the OFC at infrequent fluctuations and all will be listed along with translations at the end of each chapter.
> 
> *Updated with edits on 8/17/2014*

The soft patter of rain around him slowly lures Jia Xu to his senses, his eyes blurry and his head throbbing painfully as he tries to sit up, stunned by the dull thudding of his temples. The first question that comes to his mind is “what happened” but his memory quickly responds.

He was leading a small ambush troop to surprise a group of Wu soldiers hiding out in a base in the center of the battlefield set-up on an elevated plateau, the perfect strategic point that may decide the battle. They were able to sneak a ladder to an idle area near the base and climb over the wall, only to have an ambush waiting for them lead by Taishi Ci. The strategist ended up going blade to rod with the man and nearly had him beat but was caught off guard by another soldier smashing him in the shoulder, throwing his attack off and leaving him open to the Wu general. He only recalled Taishi Ci swinging at him before his vision became dark.

What this place is, Jia Xu is not sure but he needs to find out before the pain in his head cripples him any more than it already has. He pushes himself to his feet, taking the time to look around as his body attempts to regain feeling in its limbs. He is in an unfamiliar forest, the pine trees looming feet above him with the night sky stretching above, the dull glow of the full moon through the clouds only renders them shadows but makes their points more than obvious. Ahead of him seems to be an opening in the trees, a path of sorts that leads deeper into the forest. To where exactly? The strategist’s best guess would have been a drop of rain compared to the ocean of possibilities. Speaking of rain, Jia Xu notices the light patter of warm drops coming from above as they lightly echo through the forest, so soft that you would only realize it was raining in complete silence. He strains his eyes to try and see what is further ahead of him but can only see darkness. He sighs quietly, looking towards the sky as thunder dully rumbles in the distance behind him.

“Well, I can’t stay out here in the rain all night.” He murmurs to himself as he returns his gaze to the shady path before him. “I might as well press forward.”

He carefully shuffles forward, feeling the tall grass grab at his pants as he moves, soon feeling the tips of pine bristles graze his head wrap as he finds a clear path through the trees in the dim moonlight. He follows the path and soon finds himself at the side of a large pond being fed by a small waterfall nearby. The mist rolling off from the waterfall lingers over the waters, making it difficult to see across but Jia Xu manages to make out the shore on the other side and a stack of some large objects sitting on the shore. He carefully wades through the water, a shiver shooting up his spine from the sudden warmth now engulfing him from the waist down then from the nip of chilly air as he emerges from the water. He examines the pile to his left and notices them to be a couple of strange, metal barrels, one of them at the bottom leaking some strange black goo that seeps into the waters. He kneels down and carefully brushes up a small bit of the goo with his finger, feeling a strange warmth tingle from his fingertips. The substance feels oily between his fingers but faintly mimics the sticky property of honey as he pulls his fingers apart and finds the substances bridging the gap between his finger and thumb.

“This certainly isn’t natural.” He notes to himself before washing the substance off in the water to his side, watching the remnants swirl in the water before dissolving. “And by the looks of how it reacts and the profuse leak of the containers into the water, this stuff isn’t very healthy.” He grunts as he pushes himself to his feet, looking over the surface of the water. “I sure hope nobody has taken a drink from this water.”

The strategist continues along the path, soon coming to a grassy path that leads him in two different directions. Catching a strong odor in the air, he follows it to his right along the small path through the trees. Turning a corner, the source of the smell becomes obvious in the dark, the scent now overwhelming him as he looks over what he only fathomed to be the remains of someone. Torn limbs in a pile with a decent amount of decay to them said these parts have been here for a while, which was not good for Xu’s chances of getting out of this forest. Among the bloody grass blades, he spies a note with bloodstains. It obvious had been here before the obviously horrendous events. He plucks the note up and can barely makes out the words hastily scribbled, as if its writer was in a frenzy to get his message out. And judging by the weight of the words, it was certainly crucial:

I’ve tried to run but the wound is wide open and the pain is killing me. I am taking the easy way out. Whoever reads this, do not go to the castle.

Though the empty warning stirs a hesitant energy in the strategist, something in his mind told him to find this castle. It would at least give him shelter from the coming storm and possibly a place to find help. Anyone else could stumble upon the castle and take him to safety...or he hoped so. Then again, whatever had this man fleeing for his life only for it to end so brutally, not by his own hand obviously, would it not be waiting for him there? He could not remain outside with the encroaching storm and risking catching his death. What would it hurt to try and at least find it?

“If this is where this poor man perished and the note is accurate in that his wound was great, that castle he mentioned can’t be too far from here.” He murmurs, tossing the page next to the body parts then turning to quickly make his way back to the crossroads he came from. “I’ll try the left path and see if that leads me anywhere.”

After making his way back and taking the path across the way, Jia Xu finds his way to a large castle that looms well above the tree line. The courtyard before it is stone with grand eagle statues guarding either side of the massive staircases leading up to the front doors, which is lit by torches in various spots. After a moment of hesitation, Jia Xu climbs over the stone fence and carefully makes his way across the courtyard, observing the architecture of the castle with much wonder and appreciation.

“Well, this castle isn’t very big but its artistic value puts He Fei to shame to say the least.” The strategist comments as he climbs up one of the staircases to the front door, admiring the large glass windows that glow a bright blue from the light inside.

The front doors are easily twice his height, possibly three times, with strange symbols carved into each door so they create a seal of sorts that looks to spread across both doors. He tries to open the doors but finds them to be stuck even when he tries wrenching the door open with as much force and strength as he can manage. His efforts are thrown by the sound of metal scraping across stone, like a violent yank of a bow across the strings of an erhu, followed by the sound of a screaming foreign woman.

“ _Bon sang!_ ”

The doors rattle as someone on the other side struggles to open them, the scraping becoming louder as the yanks on the door grow frantic, accompanied by the grunts and growls on some inhuman creature.

“ _Arrêter! S'il vous plaît! Non!_ ”

The sickening sound of metal to flesh brings silence, only to be interrupted again by the familiar, sharp scrapping of metal across stone as it fades further into the castle. Jia Xu can only stand there, stunned as his mind tries to piece together what he has just heard: Someone was just slaughtered at the front doors of this place that he had been warned to stay away from and whatever had killed the woman was still inside, roaming about in search of its next victim. The appeal of catching a cold in the rain sounds more pleasant now than going into a castle of murder and death. Jia Xu turns to flee but stops mid-step when he hears something beyond the door: a faint, pained moan. He slowly approaches the door again, kneeling down and putting his ear against it as the moan echoes again. It sounds to be the female still but she is weak. Whatever attacked her has left her just barely alive.

“Miss, are you alright?”

A weak, startled gasp is followed by a painful groan and the sliding of a body. She must be badly hurt if she has to drag herself.

“ _Q-qui est là?_ ”

She sounds weak, very weak but still alive. She still has a chance, a chance that would not be lost because of his own cowardice.

“Don’t worry. I’m going to find a way in. Hold on.”

“ _N-non…_ ”

Jia Xu stands and quickly hurries back down the steps, looking around for any other way into the castle. A clearing in the trees on the other side of the castle invites investigation. Jia Xu springs over the stone railing and looks around, spotting a lit window above one of the smaller trees beside the house. He looks around and finds a good-sized rock at his feet, plucking it up then looking back at the window. He takes a few steps back.

“Been a while since I’ve thrown any stone so far up but perhaps I still have a bit of skill for such a primitive, childish action.”

He chunks the piece of stone, jeering as the shatter of glass rings out over the trees. The tree just below the window is sturdy enough for the lithe man to climb up and into the window, clearing out some of the glass with a loose branch he yanks off the tree top before he climbs in.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French phrases used:
> 
>  _Bon sang_ \- Damn  
>  _Non_ \- No  
>  _Merde_ \- Shit  
> 


	2. The Castle

The corridor he tumbles into is warmly lit by the candles mounted on the walls, each placed between the doors that line the hallway that seems to go on for quite a bit or appears to do so at least. He climbs to his feet quickly, reminding himself of the reason he so hastily broke into this seemingly nice castle.

“Alright, the girl is on the first floor below me near the front door. I just need to find the stairs and take it from there.” He quietly plans out as he begins shuffling down the corridor. “Trouble is...where do I start looking?”

The sounds of footsteps other than his own cause him to stop, listening as they stroll down the hall. Jia Xu looks up just in time to see one of the open doors slam shut. The foreign noise of an inhuman beast groaning echoes around him, as if coming from the walls, and sends a shiver down his spine. He shakes loose these clinging fears and presses forward. Fear will not help the girl dying below him and it certainly will not help him survive whatever is lurking in this castle. He needs to keep his wits about him, fear will not help him in the long-term problem of returning home or saving the girl’s life, it will only hinder him.

“I suppose I could find a light source of some kind first.” He ponders to himself. “I’m sure not all these rooms will be lit up with how old this place seems to be.”

He carefully begins searching the rooms, soon stirring up a lantern, a satchel, a box of tinders, some oil, and a strange bottle labeled ‘Laudanum’. He fills the lantern then lights it with the tinder box, causing the room to explode with light. He carefully adjusts the strength of the flame before picking up the lantern to examine the bottle in his hand.

“Hm, I’ve never heard of this stuff before” He chuckles “but I suppose anything would be of use later on.”

He carefully stows the bottle away before making his way back to the hallway, peering out before stepping outside then proceeding down the way. He finds a staircase but is surprised by the fresh blood on the steps, accompanied by fresh claw makes in the floorboards, as if someone was being dragged and was trying to escape. He moves to climb down the steps but then hears a terrifying shriek echo through the hall. It sounds like the woman from earlier. He slowly follows the blood stains to the door that slammed shut earlier, finding it to be locked when he tries to knob. The faint whimper from the door surprises him. It is female.

“She must’ve been dragged up here by whatever attacked her.” He assumes. “I need to get this door open. She can’t have much time left.”

He quickly proceeds down the hall, finding the first room on his right to be a small study with twelve large bookshelves placed in the middle back-to-back. As he looks around the room, he finds a note sitting on a desk on the other side of the room. The content of the note does not interest him too much but the date does surprise him: 23rd of October, 1981.

“1981?” He gasps. “That could explain why this world seems so different, so new. Somewhere between me blacking out and waking up I've jumped times, but how? And why was I brought here?” He shakes his head, trying to stabilizing his thoughts. “No, I can’t get distracted now, that girl needs me. I’ll figure this all out _after_ I help her and get us out of here.”'

His search of the study only brings more oil, which he stows away for later use as he hurries to search the next room. The next room appears to be a library with a dozen or more bookshelves: several in the center back to back while the rest line the walls to the left and right. Another note is found on a desk in the far right corner, the date: 8th of August, 1981. The writing consists of a woman stating how her husband, Benjamin, has been acting strange and that there are secret paths throughout the house.

“I’ll have to remember about those secret paths, they might be useful later on.”

After rustling up a few tinderboxes from the shelves, Jia Xu continues down the hall into what appears to be a lounge of sorts with a lit fireplace and bloody hand and footprints all over the wall and floor leading to the fireplace. He finds a blood stained note on the dresser beside the fireplace looks over it, finding it to be from someone who had been in the house before him, noting the fact it is written in blood and that the note describes what he assumes to be a horrible creature that the person has run into, a monster in every meaning of the word. It is described as a deformed human with a gaping mouth and decayed right hand, as well as noting that there are other monsters in the castle as well. The strategist then notices two things about the note: That the handwriting seems feminine and the note was written in the year 2004.

“Wow, this castle is _very_ old.” Jia Xu gasps. “And I’ve jumped a bigger gap in time than I originally thought.” He looks over the note again. “This writer seems feminine in their style…maybe it belongs to that girl I heard earlier.” He tucks the note away in his satchel. “I’ll need to hurry. If a creature like that is wandering in this house then I don’t have time to stand around and wait for it to find me.” He manages to find more oil in the lounge before exiting but finds no means of opening the door.

“I suppose I’ll have to go downstairs and look for something.” He sighs in his thoughts as he walks down the hall, glancing at the door as he passes it to the stairs. “I hope she’ll be okay in there, for just a little bit longer.”

“ _Aide…_ ”

Jia Xu freezes, wondering if his mind is playing tricks on him. That sounds to be the woman again but it is coming from downstairs. He quickly hurries down the stairs and is surprised to find a figure slumping against the front doors he had seen earlier from the outside. The figure, from where he stands, is a very contradiction image. The clothes look to be male: a black baggy jacket, baggy brown pants stained in blood, and clunky black boots, but the face is undeniably feminine: small nose, slender face, and smooth lips. Her hair stands out in the dim moonlight streaming through the windows on either side of the door: snow white bangs with a long, blue braid snaking over her shoulder, some strands are stained in blood with bits and pieces rustled out of place.

He carefully approaches the woman and kneels down, setting his lantern beside him then gently brushing her messy bangs from her face. Her eyes are shut and her skin is without any natural blemish aside from a few scraps and a cut just above her left eye. The woman shifts, whimpering quietly as a hand that clamps her side tenses up. The strategist moves his gaze to the woman’s side, slowly peeling back her jacket to reveal her white, torn and blood-stained dress shirt, the blood concentrated on the side she is covering. He carefully moves the hand and is shocked, finding a large gash that is oozing blood through a large tear in the shirt. She did not have much time left.

The woman whimpers again as she shifts. Her eyes slowly flutter open to look around and she is surprised by the man kneeling before her. Jia Xu glances up, surprised as well when he meets two large, cyan eyes hooded by paling eyelids.

“ _Q-qui est là_?”

It _was_ her, the woman he heard before, he found her but her voice is hoarse and weak, she is fading. If he wants to help her, he has to work fast.

“It’s alright.” He murmurs calmly as he unravels his head scarf then wraps it around his hand, not seeming to mind the long, dark bangs that fall freely around his face. “I found a way in and I’m here to help like I said I would. Just relax and keep quiet.”

The woman tries to speak but her voice fails her as she winces in pain when Xu applies pressure to her wound. She can only whimper softly.

“Just relax. I have to stop the bleeding before I can do anything.” He explains, gently moving her hand to press against the scarf.

The woman reluctantly responds to the silent command, holding the scarf in place and allowing Jia Xu to rifle through his satchel. The laudanum bottle falls out of his bag and lands in the girl’s lap. She shakily picks up the bottle with her other hand and examines the label, her eyes dimly lighting up when she recognizes the name.

“Laudanum…”

Jia Xu glances up curiously, spotting the bottle in the girl’s hand. “You know what that is?” The girl nods then holds the bottle out to Jia Xu. “You want me to open it?” He asks. She nods again.

He reluctantly takes the bottle and carefully opens it, not wanting to spill its contents, then hands it back to the girl, who is in the process of unbuttoning her shirt, causing the strategist to fluster before glancing away shyly. The woman shakily takes the bottle in one hand as she pulls the torn half of her shirt open with the other, giving her more access to the deathly wound in her side. She pours a small amount of the silvery substance onto her wound then presses the now bloody scarf against it, gritting her teeth painfully as the drug stings her flesh. After a minute or so, relief washes over her face and she pulls the scarf away, the wound now completely gone. Jia Xu is astonished.

“How?” is all he can fathom to say as the woman takes the cork from Jia Xu and closes the bottle before handing the drug and scarf back to him.

“Laudanum is a very powerful medicine...it can heal any large wound with just a few drops.” The woman explains as she buttons up her shirt, her voice light with a French accent and precise in enunciation though still weak from blood loss. “But it’s best to ingest it for the full effects.”

“Then why didn’t you?” Jia Xu asks.

“That wound was my only problem. Ingesting is only needed for several large wounds or a broken bone. There is no need to waste it when topical application is wiser and easier.”

“You seem to know quite a bit. Why is that?”

“I’ve done my research on medicines in the past. It’s not as complicated as most think it is.” The woman pushes herself to her feet, stumbling slightly as her head spins from blood loss but is just barely caught by Jia Xu as he tries to climb to his feet.

“Perhaps you should rest for a few moments.” The strategist suggests. “You’ve lost a lot of blood from that wound.”

“I’m fine. I’ve been through much worse.” The woman sighs as she finds her feet again and stands, bracing herself against the man’s shoulders. “But why would someone like you break into a death trap of a castle like this just to save someone who may have been already dead?”

“It’s called honor, my dear.” Jia Xu states as he retrieves the lantern by his feet. “It wouldn’t be in a warrior or a gentleman to leave a woman in distress without trying to help her.”

“A warrior, huh?” The woman chuckles as she looks over the man before her with now alert eyes. “You’re not dressed very good to protect anything, even yourself.”

“Everyone has their own style.”

“Right but can I ask for your name? I would like to know the one who risked his life to save me even if it was in vain.”

“I’m Jia Xu,” The strategist greets, folding his right hand over his left fist and bowing as he speaks. “And who might you be?”

“Just call me Mega.” The woman sighs with smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Aide_ \- Help/aid  
>  _Qui est là?_ \- Who's there?


	3. Wonder

“Mega? Is that a style name of some kind?” Jia Xu asks.

“No, it’s my nickname.” Mega states as she casually strolls past the older man, looking around the front hall. “I don’t prefer to give my name to strangers even the ones who save my life.”

“Reasonable, I suppose.” Jia Xu sighs, turning and following Mega. “And what did you mean that my attempt may have been ‘in vain’?”

“I mean this place isn’t one for heroes.” Mega explains, finding one of the tattered banners on the wall more interesting at the moment. “Nothing but death comes with whatever crawls from the depths of this damned place.”

“And why is a young woman like you in this ‘damned place’ to begin with?”

“Personal reasons I prefer not to disclose.” Mega states as she turns to the strategist. “What about you? I assume a ‘warrior’ like you wouldn’t just happen to be wandering through the forest looking for a damsel to save.”

“Truthfully, I’m in this castle to save you.” Jia Xu explains. “As to why I’m in this world in general even I couldn’t tell you to be honest.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because I’m not sure how I ended up here myself.”

“What do you mean by that?” Mega asks. “It’s not like you just came out of thin air.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Jia Xu sighs. Mega gives him a questionable look. “It’s mostly because of the when and how more than anything.”

“When and how? What are you talking about?”

“Before I blacked out for what seemed like a few minutes, I was in the year 201 in the middle of a crucial battle. And when I wake up, I find notes that tell my I’ve skipped centuries in time.”

“I guess that is hard to explain.” Mega sighs. “And you really have jumped a few centuries if you are speaking the truth.”

“What year is it truly though?” The strategist asks. “I’d rather not rely of what I’ve read so far considering the dates jump about in no real order.”

“It’s 2013.” Mega responds. “But we’ll figure out your problem later, right now we need to get out of here. How’d you get inside?”

“I broke a window upstairs and climbed up a nearby tree.” Jia Xu explains.

“Well, you certainly are fit to be a warrior if you ran from the front door, broke the window, and climbed two stories in only a few minutes even I need to take time to break into a residence” Jia Xu gives her a curious glance as Mega chuckles “but never mind that. Let’s get going and get out of here.”

The two climb up the stairs, Mega spots the blood on the floor that leads to the one closed door in the hallway. She turns to follow Jia Xu down the hall when a faint whimper catches both by surprise. They turn to the closed door, exchanging glances with each other before approaching it. Mega puts her ear against the wooden door, hoping to make out who the sound belongs to.

“I think someone’s in here.” Mega whispers, straining to identify the voice.

“I know. I heard something from this door earlier but I couldn’t find a way to get it open.” Jia Xu explains. “And I looked almost everywhere I could.”

“Well, how about we look around again?”

“I thought you wanted to get out.”

“I’m not leaving someone in here to suffer. I want to leave this place more than you know but I’m not leaving anyone innocent behind.” Mega states as she straightens up. “Let’s go and look again. There must be something that we can open this door with.”

The two look through the rooms again, not able to find anything despite tossing the two bedrooms to the point where it looks as if a wind storm has torn through every open room. While looking through the first small library, however, Mega finds a small note tucked beneath a tinderbox on a high shelf.

“Not all the candlesticks on the wall are alike.” She reads aloud.

“What is that suppose to mean?” Jia Xu asks as he peeks around the bookshelf.

Mega jumps down and reads the single line to herself before turning to the strategist. “Do you know where the library is in here, the actual library?”

“Right down the hall, I believe, why?”

“I think I know what we’re looking for.”

The two hurry along to the library down the hall, making their way to the back of the room, where several candles are mounted on the wall. Mega notices one of the candles burns dimmer then the others. She bounds onto the couch, nearly losing her balance as she grabs the candle stick to catch herself, jerking it back and off of the wall. A light click is heard and the bookshelf to her right swings open, revealing a hole in the wall, just large enough to let them slip through.

“It leads into another room.” Mega states as she peeks through the hole. “Let’s go.”

“Be careful.” The older man warns as Mega scrambles through the hole, popping out and rolling a little ways away from the hole.

Jia Xu carefully climbs through, reaching back through the hole to bring his lantern and the light fills the room. He helps Mega to her feet and examines the room. It is clean for the most part, not spotting a speck of blood anywhere on the floor even near the doorway across the room. Everything else is in order but the thing that stands out are the bookshelves set in the middle of the room so oddly. A scream from above catches the attention of the two. They look up and spot a door in the ceiling with a ladder leading to it from the top of the bookshelves.

“Um, let’s look around first.” Mega suggests, her eyes not moving from her barred trapdoor above. “Just in case we miss something.”

“Agreed.”

After poking around for a minute or so, the two manage to find a handful of tinderboxes and another bottle labeled ‘Sanity Potion’.

“Why would we need this?” Jia Xu asks.

“We do, trust me.” Mega says, placing the bottle in the bag beside the laudanum. “With some of the freaky things around here, we might need it to keep our heads straight.”

“True.”

“Now give me a boost to the top of this shelf.”

After a few failed attempts, Jia Xu pushes Mega onto the top of the bookshelves then steadies the shelf as it shakes wildly beneath her. Mega carefully shifts to her hands and knees then carefully stands, using the ladder as support as she shakily climbs to her feet. She glances down at Jia Xu, feeling her stomach tighten from the sheer height.

“ _Mon dieu_ , this is really high up.”

“Never mind the height.” Jia Xu sighs. “Do you see anything through the bars?”

Mega looks up, surprised by the hand that dangles through the bars, holding what appears to be a key of some sort.

“ _Oui, oui. A_ key, I see.”

“Grab it and come back down.”

“Yes sir.”

Mega carefully slips the key from the hand, soon startled by a scream from above followed by the sound of something chopping through flesh. She stumbles backwards, falling off the shelf and hitting the floor with a solid _THUD!_ She is dazed as Jia Xu rushes to her side, her vision spinning and her ears ringing, ignorant to the words of her worried companion. As her senses begin to stabilize, pain suddenly sets in the back of her head.

“Oh...my head...” She groans as she sits up, reaching to the source of pain and finding a large lump nestled between her neck and head. “Yup...that’s a goose egg if there ever was one.”

“Excuse me?” Jia Xu chuckles.

“Never mind,” Mega sighs as she climbs to her feet. “Let’s get out of here and see what this key goes to.”

Mega crawls back through the hole, tumbling a few feet then rolling to her feet. Jia Xu climbs through with his lantern, sliding down and quickly catching up with Mega as she steps out into the hall. They trek down the hall to the locked door and use the key. Mega turns the key, only to find it refused to move. It is the wrong door.

“ _Bon sang..._ ” Mega mutters as she pulls the key out “wrong door.”

“What do we do now?” Jia Xu asks.

Mega ponders for a moment, just then recalling the door in the front hall that they never checked. She grabs Jia Xu by his sleeve and pulls him along as she hurries back downstairs. She stops at the door and attempts to use the key on the door. The light click of the lock rings as a cheering crowd in Mega’s head as she grabs the knob then nudges the door open.

“This is the opposite of what we should be doing.” Jia Xu comments.

“Well, no turning back now I suppose.” Mega states as she steps through the doorway with the strategist in tow. “Let’s dig a little deeper into this place.”

The two make their way down a badly lit corridor, soon finding another door that leads into a dimly lit foyer. The decorations of the place, though hard to see in the sparse candlelight, give the large room a warm atmosphere with a lit fireplace nearby and a long table with several chairs on the other end of the room. The red tapestry hanging from windows and railings gives the room an elegant touch, almost fooling the two into thinking they are in a lavish castle and not a decrepit kingdom that has monsters lingering in the shadows. The two split up, Mega investigates the fireplace area while Jia Xu starts looking through one of the few rooms connected to the large foyer. As he looks around, he feels the ground drop slightly under his feet in one corner of the room. Looking down, he finds he has stepped on a pressure plate.

“Interesting...” He steps off and watches the plate rise. “Benjamin certainly had an innovative way of doing things. but what does it do?” He looks around the room and notices nothing different then steps onto the plate and looks around again, finding a cabinet across the room was open, revealing a key. He steps off and the cabinet shuts. “Very crafty...”

“What is?”

Jia Xu turns to Mega as she enters the room. “The previous owner of this castle had a funny way to keep his possessions under lock and key.” Mega gives the other a confused glance. “You see that cabinet across the room?” Mega turns and spots the said cabinet mounted on the wall then nods. “Watch...” She glances back as Jia Xu steps on the pressure plate, she looks back and sees the doors of the cabinet are open.

“A key!” Mega gasps, rushing over and snatching the kept from the cabinet. “Nice job, Jia Xu.” The other simply shrugs. “Let’s go try it on the door upstairs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Mon dieu_ -My god  
>  _Oui_ -Yes  
>  _Bon sang_ -Damn


	4. The Monster

The two quickly hurry back to the second floor, reaching the door in what seems like seconds. Mega fumbles with the key but soon finds the keyhole, the sweet click of the lock a fanfare as they two open the door and rush inside. There is no sign of anyone in the room but someone has obviously been in the room earlier as the room is in complete chaos with drawers strewn across the room, broken furniture, even the shelves are in complete disarray as books have been hastily pushes aside or thrown to the floor. They then notice a door leading to another room. Mega quietly shuffles across the room to the door, finding it unlocked. She pulls the door open and peeks inside, finding no one in the small bathroom.

“What?” She gasps as she walks into the bathroom. “I swear we both heard someone in here.”

“I know” Jia Xu sighs as he follows Mega “but it seems like no one is in here. Maybe our minds were playing tricks on us.”

“ _Non_!” Mega growls. “That's impossible! How could we possibly have the same delusion happen to both of us? It doesn’t make sense. Someone _had_ to be in here.”

Jia Xu sighs as Mega slumps against the wall, knowing she is correct but could not really prove the fact himself. He looks around the enclosed space but spots nothing special. He then looks over his shoulder, finding a note and a key sitting on a table behind him. He picks up the note and reads over it, surprised by the message. “Mega, you might want to have a look at this.”

Mega glances towards Jia Xu, noticing the note in his hand and slowly comes to his side, reading it with observant eyes and noting the date, the 30th of January, 1892:

I just woke up from a terrifying scream from the first floor. Benjamin isn’t here so it must have been him. I will go down to check if he is alright but I’m afraid he isn’t. He has replaced his own arm with a saw. Now he looks like a monster. I will hide in here for now.

“That’s a bit disturbing...” Mega comments, her eyes moving to the key on the table. She plucks it up with ease and examines it in her hand. “And this might lead us to our hostage.”

“You think someone moved them?” Jia Xu asks.

“We both heard something from this room before, we agree on that. Someone was in here and they may have been moved by the one keeping them here while we were running around in circles trying to figure out a way into the room.”

“Without us knowing?” Jia Xu questions. “I’m not too sure about that.”

“Stranger things have happened so far in our time here.” Mega states, shifting her gaze to the strategist. “You’re here, aren’t you?”

“True, I suppose.” Jia Xu murmurs then sighs in slight defeat. “Alright...if you think someone is still here, I’m not going to abandon you now.”

“Even if I get you killed?”

“I’m not dead so far and neither are you, so I believe we’ll be fine...for a while at least.”

“Alright,” Mega chuckles, tossing the key to Jia Xu as she walks around him and leaving him to fumble with it in his hands before securing it and stashing it in his satchel with a roll of his eyes. “Let’s get going then.”

The sound of shattering wood and a monstrous groan cause both to freeze, their eyes lock on the door in hopes the sounds are not coming from the next room. Mega turns to the strategist and quietly gestures to keep quiet as she kneels and puts her ear against the door but the sound grow no louder through the wood. The alien groaning and screeching of metal on wood continues and Mega follows them with her ear, guiding herself to the floor as the sound grew louder underneath them. She listens carefully as the sound moves about then begins to fade.

“He’s on the first floor” She quietly states as she climbs to her feet “and I think he knows we’re here.”

“Who?”

“The monster that nearly killed me earlier, the guy with the saw the woman described in that diary.” Mega explains. “He must have come to retrieve my body and found I was missing. We aren’t safe in this part of the house anymore. We need to go.”

“Then let’s get moving.”

They quietly rush out of the room and to the stairs but halfway down Mega trips on one of her pant legs, bumping into Jia Xu and knocking them both down the stairs. They crash to the floor and skid, Mega is merely left stunned as she groans in pain from her sore shoulder. She manages to roll to her hands and knees, though her shoulder still throbs in pain from the fall. She looks around, hoping the monster did not hear their tumble, and notices Jia Xu has not moved.

“Jia Xu?” She reaches out and taps his shoulder; no reaction. “Hey, get up.” She grabs and lightly shakes his shoulder; still no reaction. “Jia Xu, quit fucking with me.” She forces him to roll over, find him unconscious and with a large gash in his head. “ _Merde!_ ” She blurts, carefully propping him on her knees then tearing a piece from her dress shirt to stop his head wound from bleeding. “ _Bon sang_ I’m a clumsy fuck.”

\--

“Dammit!”

Jia Xu fumbles down the dark corridor, the grunts and growls of monsters behind him as they pursue him, almost chewing at his heels as he flees to a light at the end of the hallway. He looks back to try and see the monsters behind him but is unable to see through the thick darkness that seems to chase him as well. He looks ahead and is surprised to see a silhouette in the light, it looks almost like Mega. He pushes himself to go faster, to try to escape the creatures, to reach Mega and escape as they planned to, as he wanted to. He is just yards away when he trips, the doors on either side of him shattering. He looks up towards the light and sees the silhouette of Mega running towards him, not noticing the large monsters wielding huge saws for a hand close in on him to strike him down.

“Jia Xu!”

The sharp pinch of blades tearing through his back is enough to bring him back to his senses.

\--

Jia Xu shoots up in fright, startling Mega. “Jia Xu...” She sighs “ _dieu merci_ , you’re okay.” The man turns to her, noticing the concern and guilt in her eyes. “I’m sorry about this. I’m such a klutz. I should’ve known better than to run down the stairs. I just...” She is silenced by a sudden embrace from the other, causing her cheeks to fluster a faint pink. “J...Jia Xu?”

“It’s alright, Mega. You have no need to be sorry, it was just an accident.”

“But...”

“No buts, it was an accident.” He sternly assures as he pulls away. “I know you didn’t mean it. We were both in such a rush that I didn’t realize the risk myself.” Mega shamefully looks away, only to be forced to look back. “Now is not the time to be putting blame where it shouldn’t be. Right now, all that matters is us escaping this place alive, no matter how we do it. Remember that.” Mega nods, glancing at the ground as Jia Xu pushes himself to his feet before extending a hand to her. “Now come along. I personally don’t want to meet Benjamin in this lifetime.” Mega chuckles as she is pulled to her feet, wincing slightly from her sore shoulder and grabbing it instinctively. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, it’s just my shoulder.” Mega reassures him. “It’ll just be sore for a while.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah...” she sighs “What about you? You got a nasty cut on your head.”

Jia Xu reaches up, wincing when he touches the edge of the cut in his hairline. “I’ll be fine. It’s just a small cut.” He looks back at Mega and chuckles, getting a puzzled look from her.

“What’s so funny?”

“So far you only seem to hurt yourself when you fall.” Jia Xu explains as his chuckles continue. “First your head and now your shoulder. I hope we find more laudanum in this place because you might break a bone before we get out of here.”

Mega smirks in response. “You can’t say much yourself at this point.”

“I suppose not.” Jia Xu sighs. “Perhaps I’ll become as much of a ‘klutz’ as you if this adventure continues any longer.” Mega chuckles softly in response. “By the way, is there a reason it’s so dark in here?”

“The candles went out while you were out.”

“What about my lantern?”

“I think it landed across the room somewhere.” Mega explains as Jia Xu sets out to search for it.

“Then why didn’t you get it to light up the area?” Silence falls for a few minutes as the strategist searches, eventually finding the lantern by the front doors. He lights the lantern and turns, finding Mega standing with her head down and her back to him. “Mega?”

“Because I...I was more worried about you.” She confesses timidly.

Jia Xu smiles and walks to Mega, briefly hugging her from behind then grabbing her by the wrist. “Let’s get moving. We got a castle to escape.”

The two make their way through the dark corridor to the foyer, which is now almost pitch black aside from the light made by Jia Xu’s lantern. The darkness gives the room an eerie aura that leaves both standing at the doorway from anxious fear bouncing between the two.

“I’ll go first.” Jia Xu sighs. “You stay here unless I say otherwise, okay?”

Mega nods and watches as Jia Xu shuffles into the room, an unease squeezing his heart and a voice in his head telling him to turn back. He continues forward until the door to a room on the far right shatters. He locks up in fright, watching the doorway as a grotesque monster waddles out of the room. He quickly extinguishes his lantern and slowly backs away, silencing a startled squeak when he bumps into the stone doorway behind him. He slips into the corridor and carefully shuts the door. He lights his lantern again and turns, finding the corridor empty. Where has Mega gone? He takes off down the corridor and back to the front hall, looking for any sign of her.

“Mega...” He quietly calls out, slowly pacing across the room. “Mega, where are you?”

As he passes another door in the front hall, it cracks open and he is yanked inside. The door slams shut and Jia Xu stumbles back against some shelves, nearly causing the lantern to slip from his grip as various items tumble from the shelves above. After gathering himself from the trip up, he looks around and finds Mega tucked away in a corner of the small space he has been pulled into, curled up and hiding her face in her knees. He sets his lantern on one of the shelves then approaches Mega.

“Mega, are you okay?”

Mega looks up from her knees, fearful tears glistening in her eyes. “ _N-non_.” She whimpers, her eyes falling to her knees. “I...I can’t do this, it’s too much. We’ll never get out of here.”

“Don’t say that, Mega.” Jia Xu states. Mega whimpers in response. The strategist sighs then pushes himself onto the table beside the Frenchwoman with a huff. “You can’t give up now, not when we’ve come so far, not when freedom is so close.”

“Not with all these monsters running about.” Mega squeaks. “You have no idea what truly lurks in these halls, you’ve not seen what I’ve seen...I just can’t do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French phrases used:
> 
>  _Non_ \- No  
>  _Merde_ \- Shit  
>  _Bonsang_ \- Damn  
>  _Dieu merci_ \- Thank God  
> 


	5. Close

“Great, she’s losing her nerve.” Jia Xu sighs in his thoughts. “Guess I can’t blame her. She was probably running around this place for hours prior to my discovery, so I truly have no idea what creatures wander in the darkness but we can’t escape this if we’re stuck here. I have to calm her down somehow.” He glances at his satchel, spotting the top of the sanity potion poking out. Mega’s words from earlier come to mind from when they found the bottle earlier that evening.

“Trust me. With some of the freaky things around here, we might need it to keep our heads straight.”

“I suppose it’s worth giving a shot.” Jia Xu ponders as he pulls out the bottle and carefully pries the cork out. “Mega...” The woman glances up at the other, finding the open potion being offered to her. “You’ll need this if we plan on getting out of here alive.”

Mega nods and carefully takes the bottle, forcing down the bitter elixir, trying to focus on the soothing waves that wash over her mind instead of the sharp nip of the aftertaste burning her throat. She sets the empty bottle to her side and breathes a calm sigh then looks up at Jia Xu with a faint smile. “Thank you.” She murmurs. “Guess I’ve been in this place a bit too long and am starting to go off kilter.”

“Everyone needs a bit of stability, Mega.” Jia Xu states. “Even the most level-headed of us need someone to keep us on the ground if ever we begin floating away in a state of delirium.”

Mega chuckles softly. Jia Xu gives a curious glance. “I never thought you would be one for the poetic wording of things. You seem far more logical than anything.”

Jia Xu simply shrugs. “I dabble.”

The two meet each other’s eyes, both flustering slightly but never averting their gaze from the other. The crashing of a door being broken down spooks the two and their eyes shift to the door. Jia Xu quietly hops off the table and retrieves the lantern, dimming the light as another crash is heard then the shuffles and grunts of an inhuman creature. Mega sighs to herself as she climbs off the table, spooking the strategist as he turns.

“Looks like we’ll need to find a way around him to get to the door in the foyer and I doubt rushing him will do any good since neither of us are armed with any sort of weapon.” Mega murmurs. “Have any ideas?”

Jia Xu ponders for a moment, reflecting on all that he recalls of the path between this room and the door they need to reach. Aside from the monster wandering about, there was a threat of the darkness concealing obstacles that may hinder their ability to reach the door quickly. There is no sitting around and waiting for the monster to lose interest, it knows they are here and it will not stop until it finds them.

“Actually...I do.”

\--

The Grunt slowly shuffles past the storage closet, searching for the two intruders he swore he saw when he busted out of the room in the foyer. As he moves towards the stairs, he hears a light creak from behind. He turns and sees the storage closet door is partially open and a small crack of light peeks out. They must have been waiting until he moved along but he could not be fooled so easily. He shuffles towards the door quickly, seeming to have been heard when the door suddenly slams shut. He knows they have nowhere to run, they are cornered and his for the kill. He starts bashing at the door, his large claw ripping chunks of wood out, the splinters not bothering him in the least as he swings several more times before the door shatters into splinters and saw dust. Once the cloud clears however, he is surprised by the small man crouching beyond the doorway with a barrel in hand.

\--

Jia Xu smirks and chunks the barrel at the Grunt, causing it to stumble backward, stunning it as Jia Xu orders for a charge. He and Mega bolt out of the room towards the dark corridor. The Grunt tries to pursue them but is stunned when he is hit by a crate thrown by Mega before she hurries after Jia Xu. The two quickly and carefully scurry across the dark chamber, avoiding the chairs and couches knocked around by the creature as he tried to navigate to the door earlier. They hurry up the stairs to the door and Jia Xu, with key in hand, quickly unlocks the door and hurries into the room. Mega slips in behind him and shuts the door then leans against it and slides down as she tries to catch her breath.

The two look at one another, neither saying a word as they try to collect themselves from the hasty yet successful escape plan. After a moment or so, the two begin quietly chuckling and quickly evolves into boisterous laughter. They try to hush one another several times but eventually give into the other’s still contagious tittering. The two eventually calm themselves, catching their breath yet again before Mega speaks.

“I didn’t think that would actually work.” She admits. “I mean, when you first proposed the idea I figured you were going a bit crazy as well but it actually worked. I can’t believe it.”

“Strangely, the thoughts are shared.” Jia Xu confesses. “I didn’t expect the plan to be so flawless, I didn’t even expect us to make it out of the closet but we did. That’s all that matters.”

“Very true.”

Jia Xu extends a hand to Mega, which she happily takes then is pulled to her feet. “Come along, let’s find what we came here for and get out of here.”

The two begin searching what appears to be a dark office, finding traces of old blood and a shriveled object on the desk that could only be the arm of Benjamin when he preformed his personal amputation centuries ago. Mega searches the desk as Jia Xu watches the door for signs of the Grunt trying to break in. Mega locates a button hidden in the small cupboard of the desk and presses it, which opens a painting across from the door.

“Well done.” Jia Xu comments as he approaches the painting. “We have quite a knack for finding all these little hiding holes.” Mega simply shrugs as Jia Xu investigates the hidden compartment, finding a single button on the inside. He presses the button and both freeze, hearing the sound of something scrapping across the floor above them.

“I guess there’s another hidden place on the second floor.” Mega states as she climbs to her feet. “Looks like we’ll have to do another Grunt run.”

“Wonderful.” Jia Xu sarcastically adds.

As the two carefully slip out of the room, they are surprised to find that the Grunt di not followed them as they expected it to and never run into it as they make their way to the front hall. Assuming the creature stumbled off into the dark recesses of the castle, the two quickly hurry up the stairs.

“If the sound came from above us in the office then it has to be somewhere on the east side of the hall.” Mega ponders aloud as the reach the second floor.

“Let’s hope so or else-”

Jia Xu is interrupted by the sharp squeal of metal against wood. The noise attracts the attention of both, who discover a large, lumbering Brute at the end of the hallway. They freeze in place as the creature trudges down the hall. The creature does not seem to notice them until it groans loudly and quickens its pace.

“ _Se retirer!_ ” Mega shrieks, bolting back down the stairs with Jia Xu following close as they dash across the front hall and duck into the open storage closet.

They hide under the work table as the screech of metal from the Brute grows closer, silent panic slowly washing over the younger woman as the strategist blows out the lantern, bathing the room in darkness. The sharp sound of metal scraping by the door and the low growl of the Brute frightens Mega, causing her to nearly squeak in fright had she not covered her mouth to suppress the noise. Terror seems to be etched onto Mega’s face when Xu glances at the female. Any slight noise from her may alert the monster and they had no chance against this thing. He inches closer to Mega and wraps an arm around her, spooking her but able to silence her with a gentle hand over her mouth. The sounds of the monster patrolling the front hall keep the two silent and close until the moans and screeching disappear, leaving them in silence for a few moments.

Assuming all is safe, the two quickly and quietly make their way back up to the second floor, finding a secret staircase hidden in the room they heard the captive voice in earlier. They remain silent as Jia Xu relights the lantern then climbs down the metal steps. Mega follows and they proceed through a metal door at the bottom, leading into what they assume to be the cellar. They walk down the sparsely lit corridor and reach the main room of the cellar and climb down the rickety wooden stairs. Upon reaching the bottom, Jia Xu is startled by Mega, who suddenly embraces him, clutching to him so fiercely that Jia Xu could easily mistaken her for a terrified child. Jia Xu sighs and wraps his free arm around the Frenchwoman.

“Don’t worry, Mega, we’ll find a way out of here soon. I promise.” He murmurs. “Now let’s start looking around for the missing captive. There’s no other place they could go but here.”

Mega nods, pulling away but immediately taking hold of the strategist’s arm before walking with him down a shady corridor to the side. Jia Xu cannot help but smile to himself as the other squeezes his arm, something he has not done truly in quite some time. It is strange to him that something that seems like a universal mistake has turned into one of the better times in his life. He never imagined himself adventuring through the halls of some long abandoned castle in search of an unknown prisoner especially not with such a strange, beautiful young woman.

Yes, he could confess to himself that Mega is probably the most beautiful stranger he has ever seen and she is not a complete whore or an imbecile like the other women he knows back in his world. She is a very crafty, very witty woman with a soft center underneath that hard, gritty shell she decides to use. In fact, if he thought about it long enough, she somewhat reminds him somewhat of the younger man he used to be. And she reminds him much more of a young woman he took a fondness to while serving under Dong Zhuo for a time, Pang Ju.

Such a sweet, young girl she was, appearing so innocent yet the conversations the two shared in his short time under the gluttonous lord proved that she had a side that even scared him a bit. She and Mega looked very familiar in a few ways: the pure snow bangs Mega had were almost like the light blonde hair of Ju, they both had large strangely colored eyes, Mega’s being cyan while Ju’s were a vibrant teal, both even had a fondness of black in their attire though Ju preferred dresses to pants. Even now, he still thinks back to those days he spent with the woman that seemed to be his only equal in intellect before he moved along to a new lord. The last time he saw her was at Xia Pi. She was serving under Lu Bu at the time and had obviously changed since the last time they met. She had been mothering her child, Pang Li, a young girl who was almost five years old at the time. He could see much of Ju in Li, especially when the child begged Cao Cao to spare her mother. He and several others were relieved when Cao Cao spared Pang Ju but were surprised when she denied Cao Cao’s offer to join Wei, choosing instead to join Shu in the similar goal to bring peace to China, the unspoken wish that only Jia Xu knew of. After leaving Xia Pi, the strategist never saw or heard of her again, which worried him once Shu became an enemy of Wei. Yet in every battle Wei had been in against Shu, Jia Xu never saw Pang Ju among the warriors and he always wondered where she had gone.

As the two carefully shuffle down the hall, they find that it splits into two more corridors. Jia Xu tugs Mega along into the right corridor, his senses on full alert as they shuffle down the dark corridor. The sound of something shuffling beyond a corner causes the two to freeze. He quietly orders Mega to stay as he carefully pulls his arm free then slowly approaches the corner, peeking around it to see what was waiting for them. He just barely avoids a claw swinging at his face as he stumbles back, a Grunt stumbling around the corner. Xu and Mega bolt back down the corridor and take the opposing path but the strategist trips on something, causing him to stumble. He catches himself on the wall and tries to take off again, only to feel the Grunt’s claw rip into his back. Biting back as painful yelp, he scampers away, soon finding refuge in what appears to be a boiler room of some kind and hides in one of the dark corners. He listens as the Grunt shuffles down the hallway and passes the door, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief before checking his wounds. It feels as if several hot metal whips have struck him across the back, leaving a lingering sting but not much blood is leaking from the wounds. It is only then that he realizes he is alone.

“Mega...” He murmurs, glancing towards the door on the other side of the room. “I hope she’s okay, wherever she is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Se retirer!_ \- Retreat!


	6. Seperation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final installment of this section! Will continue soon.

Mega huddles beneath the rickety wooden platform of the slightly flooded room she had blindly stumbled into in her panic, crawling underneath in hopes of hiding from the Grunt. The hurry of footsteps followed by the growls and grunts of the Grunt pass by, allowing her to release a tense breath she had no knowledge of holding. She pokes her head out, making sure the room is clear of any threats before crawling out and allowing herself to fumble through the dark room. Only then did she realize that she forgot someone.

“Jia Xu...” She gasps, glancing back towards the door then sadly looking away. “The Grunt must have gotten him… _Non_.” She crumbles to her knees, trying to keep her cries quiet as tears silently spill. “It’s my fault.” She thought. “We should’ve waited before when crawled deeper into this portal to hell but I was too much of a coward to speak up and now he’s gone.” She screws her eyes shut in silent pain. “Why is it that I lose the ones I always care about most?”

After a minute, she pushes herself to her feet and looks around, noticing her eyes have adjusted to the darkness. She begins looking around for some source of light to bring with her but only manages to find a dusty bottle labeled ‘glycerol’. With a heavy sigh and thinking this heavy bottle would make a good weapon at least, she stows the bottle into the pocket of her tattered coat then carefully makes her way back to the door, poking her head out to look around for any signs of the Grunt and finding the corridor clear. She quietly makes her way back down the hall, keeping her senses alert as she creeps through the shadows.

She returns to the corridor she and Xu originally began their trek down, opening the first door she finds and slinking into the chamber beyond it before quietly closing the door behind her. She finds a staircase leading down to a door, possibly leading to a lower floor of the cellar. She carefully creeps down the stairs to the door, peeking through the barred window and finding what looks to be a workshop of sorts on the other side. She slowly cracks the door open and pokes her head inside to look around before slipping in. She then notices the two small cells in the room and a variety of torture devices. She dare not question whether they have been used or not by the signs of dried blood in the cells and on the various tools scattered about the chamber. She glances towards the door on the other side of the room and begins to move toward it until something begins bashing at the door.

Mega is startled by the noise, knowing it is the Grunt from earlier. She looks around for somewhere to hide, spotting a metal door next to one of the cells. She scampers to the door and swings it open, being stunned for a moment by the gust of frigid air that greets her before stepping inside and slamming the door shut behind her. The chilly fog of the room blinds her as she pulls her coat tightly around her body. She shuffles along to find a corner somewhere to huddle in, only to run into something that suddenly emerges from the mist. She stumbles back in reaction and looks up, finding a body strung up on chains. She slips and quickly backs against the far wall as more bodies begin appearing through the mist, either hanging from the ceiling or in piles on the floor. She covers her mouth to prevent from screaming as she hears the Grunt pass by the door of what she now assumes is the freezer for all the tortured bodies, hearing it growl and grunt as it hurries after something it may have seen. As the grunting and shuffling fade off, Mega carefully climbs to her feet and moves to open the door, only to be spooked by the all too familiar sound of a Brute beyond the door. She carefully puts her ear against the door, listening as the Brute trudges through the room, dragging his blade behind him as it screeches across the floor.

When the noises finally fade away, she slowly cracks the door open and peeks out, finding the torture room to be empty. She slips out and continues through the broken doorway to a connected room of the torture room, finding a note and another bottle of some strange substance. She grabs the bottle and stashes it in her empty pocket then walks to the torch mounted on the wall behind her to read the note.

“Nitroglycerine?” Mega murmurs questionably. “Why would I need to make an explosive liquid in a castle that seems to be falling apart already?” She pulls out the mystery bottle from her pocket, finding a label that reads ‘nitric acid’. “I suppose there’s not much else I can do at the moment. It might come in handy later anyway.”

She quickly moves back to the freezer, slipping in and shutting the door behind her then taking a seat with her back against the door. She carefully opens the nitric acid then sets it to the side before pulling out the glycerol, opening it as well. She retrieves the nitric acid and begins carefully pour the acid into the other bottle, swirling it occasionally to mix the two liquids well until the nitric acid bottle is empty. She caps the freshly made nitroglycerin and stands then carefully peeks out of the freezer, ensuring all is still clear before stashing the bottle in her pocket.

“Now to find a way out of here before-”

Something hits her from behind, causing her to crumble and her mind to scramble as she tumbles out of the freezer. She can hardly see as something limps into the room from the other door and over to her, the grunts telling her it is obviously the Grunt she has been trying to avoid. She feels it grab her jacket then slowly begin dragging her away as she blacks out.

\--

“How could I have been so stupid as to not pay attention?” Jia Xu mutters to himself, letting his head fall back against the brick wall behind him. “She’s probably in the corner of some abysmal room right now, scared out of her mind with no idea where I am or what could possibly be down here. All because I tripped and cowardly hid because of a few scratches.” He glances up towards the door, hearing the Grunt as it shuffles by, seeming to patrol the halls. “I have to try and find her at least. If we do end up dying here, I’m not going to let her do so alone.” He pushes himself to his feet and lights his lantern before proceeding to the door, peeking out through the bars of the small window to see the Grunt disappearing further into the dark corridor. “And now’s a better chance than any to start looking.”

He slinks out of the room and begins making his way back down the corridor, stopping when he hears the familiar screech of a Brute approaching from the corridor before him. He quickly seeks refugee in a flooded room until the creature passed. Once in the clear, Jia Xu continues down the hallway and finds the original fork in the passages, continuing to the opposing pathway and finding one of the first doors in the undiscovered area is partially open.

“She’s been here.” Jia Xu sighs in his thoughts, relieved at the small sign that Mega is indeed alive and venturing ahead in search of a possible exit. He carefully pushes the door open and slinks into the room, finding a dusty chamber with a rickety staircase that leads to a lower level. He slowly climbs down the steps, scanning the room for any sign of his friend. He notices the door at the bottom of the stairs and hurries to it, stopping as he reaches for the door when he hears the sound of another door breaking on the other side.

He peers through the barred window, spotting Mega as she scurries into another room in terror, slamming the door shut just as the Grunt from before breaks the door down and shuffles into the room. Xu slowly begins backing away as the Grunt gimps towards the door and runs back up the stairs as the Grunt begins breaking the door down.

“Shit, there’s no way Mega can get anywhere with this thing roaming about as it pleases.” Jia Xu thought as the Grunt busts the door down. “I need to distract it and give her an opening, allow her to escape safely. I might not get out alive but I won’t let her die if I can help it.”

He adjusts the light on his lantern to a room-illuminating bright, catching the attention of the Grunt. He hurries back up the staircase, hurrying through the door and slamming it shut behind him, leaning against the wall to ensure the Grunt was following. The creature begins bashing at the door, which allows Jia Xu to bolt further down the corridor and create some sort of distance between himself and this vile beast. He soon finds a small sort of storage room to hide out in and dims his lantern, carefully listening as the Grunt passes by the door and climbs up the stairs to the corridor leading back to the castle. After catching his breath, he adjusts his lantern again and looks around the room, finding it disheveled and sparse of anything aside from some hanging lanterns and a few boxes of varying size. He walks across the room and finds a note sitting on a table in the far left corner. He sets his lantern onto the table and retrieves the note, quietly reading the short passage scribbled on it:

“The six levers are controlling the water flow in the chamber. Only your own pre-installed six numbered combination can adjust the water flow.

Seems this place has secrets I never imagined it having.” Jia Xu murmurs to himself. “I might need to keep this though, just in case.”

He stashes the note into his satchel and looks around the room again, noticing a space up in the rafters where a faint flicker of light is coming from. His curiosity begs for investigation and prompts him to stack the boxes of the room, creating a makeshift climbing apparatus and allowing him to climb to the curious crawlspace. He discovers the light to be coming from a dying candle, its flame barely surviving on the last nub of wax. He also discovers a note nearby and skims over the passage, which details that someone has come to the castle to check on the water system when they met the monsters and just barely escaped from them. He also notes that the water has a funny taste to it and that if anyone ever found this note, they had to find a way to kill these creatures.

Jia Xu remains still in thought, trying piece together everything that had happened so far, wondering how such a catastrophe could have occurred. He then recalls the spring he passed through before reaching the castle. The barrels leaking an odd substance that is unseen in the water, which could have affected the water, giving it its bad taste and possibly doing even more to whoever drank it if they did not die before the effects set it.

“It’s the water.” He gasps. “That must explain it all. Those containers I saw before must have been leaking into the water for quite some time, poisoning the water and creating these deformed monsters that now roam the halls.” He smirks and pushes himself to his feet, stashing the note in his satchel before making his way back down. “I need to find Mega and fill her in on this. Maybe we can find a way to kill these things and prevent the tainted water from reaching anyone else.”

He slinks out of the room and carefully begins walking through the corridors again, finding several dead ends but no other signs of Mega. He then discovers one door he over looked when he passed it earlier and peeks through the bars, only to find mist blocking the view through the window. He carefully opens the door and slips inside, closing the door behind him. As he shuffles to the railing opposite of the door, the mist begins clearing and reveals a small body of water below.

“This must be the water control room.” He thought, looking around for the control levers and finding them to his left. “Perfect.”

“Jia Xu?”

The strategist’s attention snaps back to the water pool before him, swearing he just heard the voice of his lost companion. “Mega?”

“Jia Xu, you’re alive! _Dieu merci!_ ”

“Mega? Where are you?”

“Up here...”

Jia Xu‘s gaze shifts up slightly, the mist clearing just enough to see Mega dangling from some cross beams by her legs just below the level of the floor. “Mega, what happened to you?”

“I got knocked in the head by something and dragged in here by that Grunt” Mega states “but details aside, you have to get me down from here.”

“How?”

“Well, stopping the water would be a start.” Mega suggests, pointing down to the water, which Jia Xu just notices is slowly rising. “Or else I’m going to meet a less than desirable end.”

Jia Xu scurries to the levers, finding numerals etch above and below each one, unsure of what to do. “This must be the code the note I found earlier was talking about but I have no clue what the code could be.” He mutters, looking around for some means of a clue of some sort, finding a note pinned next to the levers. He swiftly tears it off and quickly reads over the note:

To my future self,

The age is finally starting to affect my memory, so therefore here’s a reminder to the combination that controls the water flow machine:

First two: The day we got married  
Two in the middle: The year we moved into this castle  
The 5th: Point if the way you want the water to go  
The last two together: The day of my birthday

"Great, how am I supposed to know all of this?” He mutters aloud.

“What’s the problem?”

“I found the code but it’s in riddles,” Jia Xu states “involving personal dates that Benjamin set.”

“Don’t you still have the pages from the wife’s diary?” Mega asks.

“What does that matter?”

“The wife wrote down everything, remember?” Mega mentions. “She noted each date for anything that seemed off. Maybe she mentioned some of the dates you need for the code.”

Jia Xu scrambles through his satchel, pulling out the diary entries he collected throughout the castle, spreading them out and looking over each one. “You’re right, she did.”

“Use them to work out the code and quickly! I can’t grow gills anytime soon and I’m not too fond of the idea of drowning.”

Jia Xu skims over each page, looking for the first two numbers. “Thirteen,” He murmurs, standing and flipping the first two levers to the one and three. “Alright,” He skims over the pages again, finding the page but stumbling over some mental math. “Fifty-one,” He flips the next two levers to five and one. “Down,” He flips the fifth lever down then quickly skims for the final date.

“Jia Xu!”

“Six!” He flips the final lever, clutching to it fearfully as Mega squeaks. “Please don’t tell me I messed up.” He quietly pleads himself.

“Jia Xu, you did it!” Jia Xu peeks out of the corner of his eye, watching as the water level climbs down from where it begins consuming Mega’s braid then breathing a sigh of relief. “I knew you could do it!”

Jia Xu stumbles to the railing, still trying to calm himself as he looks across at Mega. “How are you going to get down from there?”

“Give me a second.”

Mega pulls herself up to where her feet are tied to the crossbeams, clawing onto the crossbeam then sharply yanking her feet down to break the rope, which then unravels from around her legs and falls to the water below. She climbs onto the beam, quickly crosses, and leaps over the railing. She is surprised by the sudden embrace from the older male then chuckles under her breath as she returns the gesture. “ _Dieu merci_ , I thought the Grunt got you after we were separated. I thought...”

“It’s alright.” Jia Xu murmurs, burying his face in the snow white bangs to the other. “We’re both safe now, that’s all that matters.”

“Right...” Mega sighs then looks up at Jia Xu, flustering when she realizes how close their faces are before looking away. “We best be on our way.”

Jia Xu nods and takes Mega by the wrist before guiding her out of the room and to a set of large doors he found earlier in his ventures through the corridors, which are now open to show the outside and a bridge leading to their potential freedom. The two run out the doors and onto the bridge but Mega suddenly stops, nearly causing Jia Xu to trip. He turns to her, concerned as to why she stopped.

“We can’t just leave.” She states. “Not with those monsters posing a threat to anyone else. We have to get rid of them.”

“How are we going to do that, Mega?” Jia Xu asks. “We have no weapons of any kind, no way to defend ourselves.”

“You’re kinda wrong there.” Mega chuckles as she reaches into her pocket, pulling out the nitroglycerine bottle. “We can use this to destroy the bridge and those monsters with it and make sure no one else will fall victim to them in the future.”

“Are you sure it will work?” Jia Xu questions.

Mega nods and looks back at Jia Xu. “Trust me, this is the only way we can stop this.” A familiar screech echoes through the air and she turns, spotting the Brute and Grunt struggling to squeeze through the doors. “C’mon.” She takes Jia Xu’s hand and hurries along the bridge then pushes him along to the end while she remains on the bridge, turning back to the monsters as they charge across the bridge.

“ _Allez au diable, vous damné bêtes!_ (Go to hell, you dammed beasts!)”

She throws the bottle then turns and charges for the end of the bridge. The bottle shatters against the Brute’s sword as he blocks it, splashing the contents on it and the Grunt then swings its sword to shake it off. His sword passes over one of the lit torches, triggering an explosive reaction that sends Mega flying over Jia Xu. She rolls across the ground, coming to rest at the edge of a dense forest, stunned from the force of the explosion. The strategist hurries to the young girl’s side as she shakes off the explosion, glazed cyan eyes looking up at him before she chuckles.

“I told you to trust me.”

Jia Xu chuckles under his breath as he helps Mega to her feet then tightly embraces the young woman. “You truly are a crazy woman, aren’t you?”

Mega shrugs. “We all meet at least one in our lifetime, don’t we?”

“I suppose so,” Jia Xu sighs “but then again, you are no typical crazy woman.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Mega chuckles then looks around. “But let’s get out of this nice, little alcove and find a place to rest before we start any real conversation.”

The two look around and soon find a small hole leading to an underground passage hidden in the bushes, possibly a way to their true freedom. Mega crawls into it first before telling Jia Xu to follow, alerting him of the lack of head room. They maneuver through the dark, narrow space carefully and emerge on the other side, finding a grassy path through a forest before them.

“Finally,” Mega sighs “we made it out.”

“But is it the end of our troubles yet?” Jia Xu questions as he climbs to his feet. “That’s the real question.”

“For now...” Mega chuckles as she walks away, Jia Xu quickly following. “Until we run into it again, we should try to find out where you came from and how you got here then we can try to get you back home before anything serious happens to you.”

“I suppose that would be wise.” Jia Xu murmurs.

“Then let’s get out of this forest and find a means of shelter, preferably not an abandoned castle or anything of that sort.”

Jia Xu chuckles as he brushes a strand of night black hair from his face. “I’m with you there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French phrases used:
> 
>  _Non_ \- No  
>  _Dieu merci!_ \- Thank god!  
> Next installment of _Fear_ : Obscurity


End file.
